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The Curriculum
Course Fee
About Us
HBR Personnel
Credits
Arokan Holdings
Course Dates
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| The South African School for Butlers & Household Personnel |
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| Where did it all start? |
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| The school was founded in June 1997 by Frederick Fraser and Johan van Biljon, who both worked as butlers for high-profile families in Europe. They were both approached by Willie Kuhn, the now editor of the popular "Huisgenoot" magazine, to do an article about South Africans working abroad. Once the article was published, they both received hundreds of letters and telephone calls from the readers, wanting to know how they can go about becoming butlers. The idea was born to start a training facility in South Africa for butlers and to train and prepare the students for a position in the hospitality industry, especially in the private household. As the saying is: "The rest is history!" Up to date they have trained over 200 butlers and secured very good positions for them all over the world. Some of the butlers have become quite famous, especially through media exposure and because of who they are working for. Here is an extract of the article that was published in the "Huisgenoot" (www.huisgenoot.com) The millionaire's mansion with it's beautiful gardens perches high above the blue Mediterranean. Everything is carefully groomed and as pretty as a picture. It's obvious someone has a strong hand on the helm. The gates swing open and we drive in. The man approaching with outstretched hand and welcoming smile looks cool and professional in his summer clothes. Then he greets us in Afrikaans and we realize the butler of Iraklitsa is South African. Frederick Fraser, from Cape Town, is in charge of housekeeping. With him is Johan van Biljon, also from Cape Town. Both are proud of the service they provide in Greece - after all, South Africans are good workers. Butlers Frederick and Johan - labourers, some might say. Or babysitters, cooks, servants. In fact they do a little of everything, so maybe they're super-butlers. Whatever the case, they're masters of the house. They have total control of the management of the mansion, owned by a Greek tobacco millionaire. He wants to be anonymous because of the growing threat of kidnapping to rich men and their families. He and his wife have many social commitments and travel widely - so other people manage their private affairs. Every day Frederick and Johan lay out the millionaire's clothes, get the children to school and ensure the house is in tip-top condition and everything runs smoothly. They bake, brew, scrub, buy, nurture, advise, decorate, nurse and plan. They're evn entrusted with the combinations of the safes - if a fire broke out they'd have to save the valuables. We sit on the spacious patio looking out over Iraklitsa, a beautiful holiday resort near Kavalla in the north-east of Greece. It's the playground of the rich and famous and many stars such as Antonio Banderas and wife Melanie Griffiths and Brigitte bardot anchor their yachts there. In the bay lies a tiny Greek island. "It's for sale - if you've got a few million rand," says Frederick. It's the bargain of a lifetime, but not possible on a holiday budget. So instead of buying paradise I ask about the duties of a butler. Is a butler like Niles in The Nanny? Does he have a sharp tongue and lots of style? Is he shrewd and does he regard himself as superior? Maybe he's like Jeeves, the British butler created by PG Wodehouse in his comic novels - full of plans and intrigues, clever and very English. Is he like the butlers in some British films - half senile, loyal ancients who haven't a clue what's going on and are mocked by everyone around them? Frederick and Johan smile amused, professional smiles. What they do and what people think butlers do are poles apart. "People think you walk around in a tuxedo and never get your hands dirty," says Frederick. "In fact the opposite is true. You have to work really hard. Sometimes you get to bed at three or four in the morning." Coffee is served in style. The cakes are warm from the oven, the plate decorated with greenery. "i'm responsible for the kitchen," says Frederick. "I'm also responsible for receiving guests and for formal dinners (up to four a week), at wich people from all over the world are entertained. "I prefer French cuisine but I cook Greek food for the family." Where did he get the experience necessary for the job? "It's a case of LBE - Learn By Experience," he jokes. Johan, a trained nurse, helps with the children, upkeep of the house, arrangements for guests, setting tables for formal functions and the laundry. They're quick to let me know the first rule for people in their position is to work hard and keep their mouths shut. "We look without seeing and hear without listening," says Frederick. "One simply does not talk about what goes on in a house like this. You have to honour people's privacy or you'll definitely never be employed again. Your loyalty has to be absolute." All they would let slip is their millionaire boss has tobacco factories and warehouses all over the world - one warehouse is as big as a rugby field. His company also has offices in various countries. His wife is negotiating to buy a hotel and the family wants to buy a helicopter and a boat with 16 cabins. They've just bought a house in New York for more than R 16 million. I'm told the garden was revamped last year at a cost of R 4 million - the price included 6000 new rose bushes. Attack dogs roam the property because safety is a priority. Frederick's day begins at 6 am with preparations in the kitchen. In summer the family usually has a formal breakfast on one of the balconies. After that comes the housecleaning and looking after the children. "As head of the staff of seven I have to buy everything we need," he says. "I go to the market every day for fresh fruit and vegetables, I have to make sure the staff get paid and I even do the wife's banking." He and Johan need the ability to plan ahead, as the owner's wife often phones from Athens to say she's bringing eight people home for dinner. "We have to be her left and right hands, as well as her eyes and ears," Frederick says. He and Johan aren't au pairs. It's responsible work, not a picnic, they say - not the kind of work young people look for when wanting to travel the world. They earn about R 15 000 each a month. Accommodation is free and their employer pays their medical bills. Then there are tips. At a formal dinner a guest might hand over R 900. "But it's all done very discreetly," says Frederick. Although they live intimately with the family, they're not allowed to get to close. A butler must know his place. Even so, strong bonds are formed. The children have become attached to the two South Africans and have evn learned some Afrikaans words - such as "pampoenkop." On the way out we run into one of the daughters and Frederick introduces us. "Frederick says you're wonderful children - he says you're not a pampoenkop," She looks shocked for a moment, then laughs. Internationally, butlers form a closed community, but there's a growing demand for them. Butlers from America, Sweden and Finland all applied for the two posts with the Greek family. "The concept of a nanny or housekeeper is changing worldwide," says Frederick. "It's becoming a full-time career and it's especially rich people who look for such people." He and Johan, who finished their two-year contract with the family shortly after our visit to Greece, say they could easily get similar work in America, but they have other plans. London has a School of Butlering and they want to establish something similar in South Africa. People need to be trained to provide top-quality service anywhere, they say. They need to be taught how to communicate, work, make decisions, think ahead and be reliable. They should be healthy and adaptable. If it's up to these two the world will soon be full of butlers from the Rainbow Nation. |
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